This Spring Grilled Cheese is packed with bold flavors; aged cheddar cheese, smokey charred scallions, and a little dijon mustard round out the sandwich. Add on a perfect technique, and you get a crispy brown, ooey-gooey, spring-filled sandwich every single time.

hand holding a grilled cheese sandwich with charred scallions in the air

I created this Spring Grilled Cheese sandwich after a series of unrelated, everyday occurrences. A light bulb went off in my head, and I knew exactly what to make this time of year.

OCCURRENCE #1. My mom makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches, hands-down. She contests that the key is a good melting cheese, and I think her technique is also essential to obtaining a perfectly crisp, gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

OCCURRENCE #2. A few years ago, my neighbor left spring onion bulbs from his garden in front of my front door and told me to plant them. He explained how they pop up in the spring and are a welcomed ingredient as the weather starts getting warmer. He was right. Everyone should find a place to plant spring onions.

OCCURRENCE #3. Well, technically two moments. I always admired Ashley Rodriguez’s recipe for Grilled Cheese with Charred Scallions and Joshua McFadden’s Charred Scallion Salsa Verde from Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables looks equally enticing.

OCCURRENCE #4. This year in the Midwest, we have drastically swinging temperatures and it’s hard to keep up. This grilled cheese sandwich makes it easy.

Grilled cheese sandwich tilted on its side on a plate

Scallions are the underdogs. They are the vegetable that gets overlooked in the springtime in favor of asparagus, radishes, and greens. They are, quite frankly, considered a year-round vegetable. Yet, there is something special about being able to pick green onions straight from the ground in the spring and searing them in a pan to make them delightfully charred and sweet. Then take them a step further, and combine them with aged white cheddar cheese and dijon mustard to create a warm, ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is.

POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS

AGED WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE. This sandwich has bold flavors and thus needs a bold cheese to stand up to them. Otherwise, you risk tasting one ingredient over the others. In place of Aged White Cheddar Cheese, Aged Yellow Cheddar, Havarti, or Gruyere are excellent choices for melting purposes and taste.

DIJON MUSTARD. Not a mustard fan? Feel free to substitute dijon mustard for mayonnaise or leave it out.

WHOLE GRAIN BREAD. I used a hearty, wholegrain bread in this recipe, and white bread also works wonderfully.

ADD HERBS. Dill is a lovely addition to this sandwich, as is parsley. Feel free to experiment depending on what herbs you have on hand.

HOW TO MAKE A SPRING GRILLED CHEESE WITH CHARRED SCALLIONS

Cook the charred scallions in a skillet.
Spread the chopped charred scallions onto one slice of bread and dijon mustard on the other half.
Top the charred scallions with cheese.
Place the bread slice, mustard-side down, onto the cheese and charred scallions to form the sandwich. Butter the outsides of the sandwich.
Cook the spring grilled cheese sandwich until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is completely melted. Enjoy!

hand holding a stack of spring grilled cheese sandwiches

MORE SPRING-INSPIRED RECIPES

Spring Grilled Cheese with Charred Scallions

Print Recipe

Author: Kim
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 sandwich 1x
Category: Sandwiches
Method: Stove Top
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

olive oil
1.5 small scallions or 1 large scallion, trimmed, including 1/2-inch from the top
kosher salt, for sprinkling
1/2 tablespoon (7g) butter, softened
Two square deli slices or 2, 1/4-inch x 2-inch, brick-cheese slices (56g) aged white cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dijon mustard, more or less to taste
2 thin slices of sandwich bread

Instructions

Cook the charred scallions. Heat a glug of olive oil in a 10 – 12-inch, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions in a single layer (if tripling the recipe, cook them in batches if necessary). Season the scallions with a sprinkle of salt. Place another heavy pan on top of the scallions to press them down. After 30 seconds to 1 minute, lift the heavy pan and flip the scallions to the other side. Place the heavy pan back on the scallions and cook until the other side is charred, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Chop the scallions. Once the scallions are charred and limp, remove the scallions from the pan, and place them on a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, chop them up into 1/4-inch pieces.
Assemble the sandwiches. Flip the bread slices over and spread the chopped, charred scallions onto one half of the sandwich and top with cheese. Spread the dijon mustard on the other slice of bread. Place this half, mustard-side down, on top of the scallion and cheese mixture. Spread the outside of the bread slices with softened butter.
Make the grilled cheese. Wipe out the skillet you used to cook the charred scallions, and heat the skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, about 4 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low and place the sandwich in the skillet. You should hear a sizzle when placing the sandwich on the skillet. Cover the skillet with a lid. Remove the lid and flip the sandwich once the underside has a rich, golden brown color, about 4 minutes. Once flipped, cover the skillet with the lid again and cook until the the bread is golden bread and the cheese is completely melted, about 4 minutes.
Serve. Remove the sandwich from the pan onto a plate or cutting board when both sides have a deep golden color and cheese is completely melted. Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is inspired by Ashley Rodriguez’s recipe for Grilled Cheese with Charred Scallions and Joshua McFadden’s Charred Scallion Salsa Verde from Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables.

SERVING SIZE. I wholeheartedly acknowledge this may be a grown-up grilled cheese, which is why this recipe serves 1 and can easily be scaled up to fit your needs. The best part? This recipe is as much as a recipe as a technique. If you skip the scallions and mustard and stick with the cheese, you have the best classic grilled cheese sandwich ever.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Calories: 338 calories
Sugar: 1.8g
Sodium: 671mg
Fat: 18g
Saturated Fat: 12g
Carbohydrates: 14.4g
Fiber: 1.6g
Protein: 16.3g
Cholesterol: 75mg

Keywords: Spring Grilled Cheese, Charred Scallion, Grilled Cheese Sandwich